Stars Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch have finalized their deals with producer Warner Bros. Television to stay with the Chuck Lorre comedy for what is envisioned as its final two seasons, Variety has learned. According to insiders with knowledge of the negotiations, the deal will pay Bialik and Rauch $500,000 per episode for 48 episode. The deals are believed to include a separate development component for both actors.

A representative for Warner Bros. Television declined to comment.

CBS renewed "The Big Bang Theory" in March for two more seasons after finalizing deals with the show's original five cast members — Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Kunal Nayyar and Simon Helberg — who are set to earn $900,000 per episode each. Those five actors each took a $100,000-per-episode pay cut from the $1 million that each had been earning in order to free up additional money for Bialik and Rauch's raises.

Bialik and Rauch had been seeking pay parity with their fellow stars, but the $500,000 per episode fee is a significant increase from the $175,000-$200,000 per episode that each had been making.

"Big Bang" is television's highest rated comedy. It has been an enormous success in syndication for Warner Bros. and spawned a recently ordered to series spinoff, "Young Sheldon." But the new first-run episodes will not be a huge moneymaker for the studio or CBS, given the size of cast salaries and production costs.

Bialik and Rauch both first appeared on the comedy in season three and joined the cast the following season. Bialik has earned four consecutive supporting comedy actress Emmy nominations for playing Amy Farrah Fowler, girlfriend of Parsons' Sheldon Cooper. Rauch's Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz is a fan favorite whose marriage to Helberg's Howard Wolowitz, and birth of their first child, has been a central storyline for the show's past three seasons.

Both actors are represented by WME. Bialik is also with manager Tiffany Kuzon of Primary Wave Entertainment and attorney Shep Rosenman. Rauch is with manager Alissa Vradenburg of Untitled Entertainment and attorney Jodi Peikoff.

Read the original article on Variety. Copyright 2019.
Follow Variety on Twitter.

Popular from BI Prime

Close iconTwo crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.Check mark iconA check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction.